[Standard technique of oncologic colorectal surgery].

Abstract

Who ever is writing about standards should put himself the question: What is a standard? How is it produced? Who is defining it? How compulsory is it? A standard should only be understood as guiding principles or as following guidelines and never as a dogma, while otherwise every operative technical or therapeutical progress is prohibited. On the basis of the onco-surgical guidelines for the colo-rectal carcinoma is shown how standards can begin to sway. The Turnbull "no-touch isolation technique" does not stand up to the criteria of the evidence based medicine. The usefulness of the high ligation of the veins and the intestinal occlusion has not been proven by any studies. The central ligature of the Arteria mesenterica inferior in left resection is wrong according more recent anatomical knowledge. Ligation near to the aorta leads obligatory to lesions of the plexus hypogastricus. Animal experiments are controversial concerning the dissemination of tumour cells during crushing of the cancer. And a prospective controlled study does not show any advantage of respecting the Turnbull criteria. Independent prognostic factors are the surgeon, the frequency of performing the procedure in the hospital concerned, the pT and N stage, the R-0 resection and according to American pathologists the pre-operative CEA titre. Also are mentioned the infiltration of veins and lymph vessels, micro metastases in lymph nodes and the grading. The resection should if possible be performed in anatomical layers, specially considering the meso-rectum. What should be done in the distal 8 cm till the pelvic floor has not yet been clarified. On the contrary, the laparoscopic surgery has definitively also found its acceptance in oncological surgery. The discussions about port-metastases and tumour-cell-dissemination by the pneumoperitoneum-gas have silenced. Already, partially better long-term results are mentioned. In the beginning of 2003, the pillars of the standard technique of oncological colo-rectal surgery are besides the orthograde intestinal flushing, the pre-operative low molecular Heparin and the antibiotic prophylaxis, the open or laparoscopic R-0 en bloc resection, the minimal safety distance in the low rectum of 1 cm, the ligature of the Arteria mesenterica inferior 2-3 cm distally to its origin from the aorta in case of left resection, respectively the Arteria ilio-colica at its origin from the Arteria mesenterica superior in case of right resection, the cytotoxic intestinal flushing in case of left resection and the flushing of the abdominal cavity as well as the port-site with Taurolin 0.5%. In case of rectum-carcinoma uT3 or uN+, a neo-adjuvant radio-chemotherapy is administered and adjuvant chemotherapy is given by positive nodal colon-carcinoma.